It’s our eighth week of classes in the new Howard L. Hawks building and we are enjoying our new home for the College of Business. This last month, we moved up three spots in the U.S. News & World Report rankings to No. 45 in the nation. We also received our final enrollment numbers and first-time freshmen in the College of Business increased by 14.8 percent. Overall undergraduate enrollment for the college increased by 5.6 percent and graduate enrollment is up 11.9 percent, making a combined enrollment increase of 6.3 percent for the year. Leading the University in enrollment growth, our total enrollments have grown 29.5 percent in the last five years.

We also held a Business Alumni Tailgate on September 23 and you can read more about that in this newsletter. For those alumni who could join us, you heard me say how this building was built entirely by private donations or as we often say, "built by alumni for future alumni". I want to make sure all of you know we definitely appreciate your support and generosity.

Last month, I showed you the Trading Room, the Sales Center and the Huskers Shop in a video version of this newsletter. This month, I want to mention how Hawks Hall has the largest auditorium at Nebraska, which holds 385 people. The cutting-edge technology includes catchbox microphones, which are wrapped in padding like a pillow, so the microphone can be literally thrown to students who want to ask or answer questions, as well as outstanding acoustics so the speaker at the front can easily be heard throughout the room.

The Clifton Strengths Institute gained much needed space in our new building. The institute assists students in identifying and maximizing their talent and faculty and staff in guiding their personal, professional and leadership development through the use and application of strengths-based sciences. Established as part of a $30 million donation in 2015 by Gallup and the Clifton Foundation, the institute includes the only strengths research lab hosted at a college or university. Every business student identifies their strengths through the CliftonStrengths assessment and receives one-on-one strengths coaching through an eight-week course their freshman year. Currently, the College of Business is the only institution to offer all students the one-on-one coaching. Throughout their time at Nebraska Business, students also revisit their strengths in the Professional Enhancement Program (PrEP), which consists of four, one-credit hour courses that prepare business students for career readiness and success after college. The institute also positions students to develop entrepreneurial talent and leadership skills to build businesses, teams and communities through the Clifton Builders program. Students, groups and organizations within the university can also receive strengths coaching and workshop training. Learn more at: business.unl.edu/strengths.

Also, don’t forget to stop by and visit our Yes Chef Café. Created and run by Nebraska alumnus Brandon Akert, he wrote his business plan during his business entrepreneurship class. He and Claire Cuddy, who studied hospitality, restaurant and tourism management at Nebraska, met in college and later joined with chef Jake Thiesen to create Yes Chef. Their breakfast, lunch and snack food make our faculty, staff and students very happy and they also cater events and meetings.

Next month, I will share more about the building and our annual Partnership Summit and Advisory Board meetings held October 5-7.

Thanks for continuing to support our efforts and help us Start Something. Published: October 10, 2017